Dr. Frederick F. Attix came to Lewistown in 1901 where he set up one of the first local medical practices. Dr. Attix traveled 70,000 miles in his horse and buggy visiting patients in mining camps, often operating by lamplight in bunkhouses. On April 6, 1917, the same day the United States entered World War I, he and Dr. Frank Davis opened the Attix Clinic. Lewistown architects Wasmansdorff & Eastman designed the brick building, which was originally planned to carry five stories. Restrained brickwork, rusticated corner quoining, and a classical pediment at the roofline reflect the transition in western commercial architecture from the showy Victorian era to the less flamboyant twentieth century. Dr. Attix, who delivered some 1200 Fergus County residents, died in 1948 at St. Joseph’s Hospital where, in 1909, he had performed the facility’s first major operation. Although expansion of this building never occurred, the Attix Clinic continued to serve the community until 1955.
Images
